Pokeman
by Whelp11
Summary: We all know that the Pokerus does things to our Pokemon to make them stronger and enhance their abilities. But something's changed, Pokerus has jumped the species gap. My name is Ezekiel, Zeke for short, and I'm somehow infected with the Pokerus, and it's changing things, changing me. Rated-MA 18 for sexual content in later chapters. please Read & Review
1. Prologue

Prologue

"Don't worry Kiel, we will find a way to fix this." My father told me.

"I know dad, i trust you to do everything you can." I assured him "But don't guarantee anything. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst, right?"

"Glad you remember that lesson." My father smiled at me "We will have you out of there in no time." I stepped into the large, cylindrical tube of glass. My father moved back as some technicians attached some electrodes and instruments to my arms, legs and torso.

"Dad?" My father turned to me "No matter what, promise me you won't keep me in here for more than 3 months. I don't want to spend the rest of my life in here."

"Son I don't know if that will be enough time." My father almost pleaded.

"I don't care." I told him "Promise me." He hesitated but nodded.

"We will find a cure Ezekiel, eventually." He told me, using my full name this time. I looked down at my left arm one last time as the technicians moved out of the stasis tank.

"See you in 3 months." I said, he replied with a nod. The tank began filling with translucent green fluid, surrounding me. My vision began to fade as the sedative in the fluid began to kick in. The fluid would provide my body with the nutrients I needed, I'd absorb them through my skin. Soon my vision was gone.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Three years! **Three years **I've been in this stupid tank! Not the the three months i was promised! My father lied to me, my own father! I thought it would be peaceful in here, like a coma or something, nothing but dreaming. I was wrong, it was some sort of limbo between consciousness and comatose. I couldn't see anything but i could hear. I couldn't move but I could feel. Twice a day I am given electroshock therapy to keep my muscles strong, my body is racked with pain with every jolt. The only reason I know it's been three years, it feels like an eternity, is because my father is in the room talking with a technician and he mentioned it. The technician seemed to be arguing on my behalf.

"Sir, you promised him no more than three months, it's been twelve times that amount of time." The technician reasoned "Doesn't he deserve a chance to have a life?"

"He is my son and i decide what is best for him!" My father yelled "Not you!"

"Sir we haven't made headway on a cure in over five months!" The technician matched my father's volume. "When are you going to realize you can't keep your promise to him."

"I'm not arguing this! I am your superior and you do as I say!" He retorted "No exceptions!" There was a beep, the familiar sound of my father's pager. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm needed in the R and D wing." My father's footsteps echoed off the walls as he stormed out, the sound of a door closing soon followed.

"I'll be damned if i let this go on for any longer." The technician muttered, just loud enough for me to hear. There were a few beeps and a hiss of hydraulics, then a few more beeps and another hiss. I felt my feet hit the floor of the tank and I felt just barely caught myself when the rest of my body succumbed to gravity. Stars danced in the darkness of my vision. I felt the pinch of a needle in my arm and my vision and strength returned at a quicker pace. It took a few moments for my eyes to adjust, it didn't help the technician shining a penlight in my eyes. "Zeke, can you hear me?"

I took my first real breath in three years to answer him, but there was still fluid in my lungs. I hacked and coughed until the fluid evacuated my lungs by way of my throat. The technician gave me a few hardy slaps on the back to help clear my lungs. "Yeah I hear you." I managed after a few more moments of hacking.

"Good." He said "Now we have to hurry, no doubt your father has already been alerted on the status of your stasis tank." As if on cue there was a loud banging on the metal door. "Here put these on!" He tossed me a bundle of clothes. I slipped on the cargo pants, t-shirt, socks, shoes and jacket. The technician tossed me a backpack after I was dressed. "Come on follow me." He ordered as I slipped on the bag. He led me to a panel in the wall and he slid it open. Behind it was a small corridor with wiring running the whole length. The technician led me through the winding service hallway until he reached a hatch. He spun the wheel and with a loud groan of protest it opened. The door became a shaft of sunlight as my eyes tried to readjust. "Listen to me." The technician started "Take this compass." He handed me a compass "Go exactly east from the complex. Do not stop until you find a large mansion. There are people there who will help you. It should be about a three day trip on foot. Now go!"

"Wait." I began "Who are you?"

"My name is Rick." He answered "And I'm just a technician who wants to help you. Listen the next couple of days will be rough, probably painful. The stasis tank slowed your condition, but now it will most likely progress faster than normal."

"Wait this has happened before?" I asked

"You'll learn more at the mansion!" He said starting back down the tunnel "Now go!"

And so I ran, ran until I couldn't anymore. I went east like I was told. When night came I didn't stop. I knew I had to put as much distance between me and the complex as possible. It wasn't until the dawn of the next day that I finally told my body to stop and rest. I leaned up against a large tree trunk and shut my eyes. I fell asleep and unlike in the stasis tank, I actually dreamed.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

_"Dad somethings going on." I told my father_

_ "What's wrong Kiel." My father replied, using the pet name he gave me when i was much younger._

_ "I don't know dad, I woke up this morning and.. well look." I rolled up the sleeve on my left arm to reveal a patch of skin that was different from the rest. Fine, black hair was starting to sprout up from a small area of my forearm that, last week, used to have a cut on it._

_ "That's strange." My dad started "You should come with me to work, we can run some tests."_

_ "Pokerus?" I said, repeating the results of the test "How in the hell did i get Pokerus?!"_

_ "Son, calm down." My dad insisted "The only thing I can think of is that you got it from your Umbreon." My dad flipped through another folder on his clipboard. "remember we concluded that he had an advanced strain of the virus and it's why he died."_

_ "Yes I remember!" I yelled at my dad "It was only the saddest day of my life. Not only did I lose my best friend, that was also the day that Sarah ran away from home. She didn't even say goodbye to me." It was only a few weeks after that day and the hurt of loss was still fresh in my mind. Loss of my best friend; my Umbreon, Azrael, and the loss of my girlfriend who ran away from home. My dad looked at me with a frown on his face, obviously upset i yelled at him. "Sorry, i just... this is really stressful." I sat back down on the hospital bed in the room._

"_I understand Kiel." My father assured me "Listen, we should have the necessary equipment here to synthesise a cure, but it's gonna take time and we need to slow the progression of that." He gestured at my arm "So we're gonna need to put you into one of the complex's stasis tanks."_

"_Ok, lead the way." I said standing back up. My dad led me through the complex, to that room that my present self knew would be my prison for three long years. The complex wasn't really a hospital, although it could easily qualify, it was more of a place where scientists research formulas to help create different potions and ethers intended for use on pokemon. My father opened the door to that room and I entered willingly, naive to the fact that i would be there for so long._

I woke from my dream with a gasp, it was such a vivid recollection of the events of the day I was put in the stasis tank. For a split second i thought i might be back in that room. I rolled up my left sleeve to check my watch, only to realize that the small spot of black hair had spread out across my entire forearm, beginning to crawl up my bicep and onto my hand. At my elbow some of the fur was yellow and of a finer texture. I decided to ignore it for now and just keep heading east. I set off at a brisk pace through the woods, with no discernable path to follow. I just kept weaving my way through the trees, thickets and even crossed a stream at one point. Eventually I began feeling tired and decided that when dusk came I would stop and sleep. The sun dipped below the horizon and the sky turned to gray with a beautiful full moon, but i didn't stop. I caught my second wind, feeling more energized, and pressed on.

It seemed like I was making my way through the forest twice as fast as before, I thought i would have to slow up due to lack of light at least. My eyes had adjusted to the dark quite quickly actually and I could see as good as I could in the day time. When I looked at my watch again I realized that it was already 3:04 A.M. and I still wasn't tired. This was starting to get really weird, I was always a night owl but not to this extent. The sun finally began climbing its way back up into the sky ahead of me and suddenly my strength and energy drained away. I finally leaned against a rather large boulder and fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I woke up aware of my left arm and shoulder feeling very warm. I rolled up my sleeve to see that my entire arm, including my hand, was encased in black fur. I stripped of my shirt, the fur continued across my left pectoral. It was almost surreal as I saw the progress of the virus from day to day, I couldn't help but wonder what else it would do to my body. I took time to examine the area of fur on my elbow that was yellow instead of black. The yellow fur was in a ring shape, if I didn't believe it before, that my Umbreon got me sick, I sure did now. I wondered if the virus would completely turn me into an Umbreon, or turn me into some hideous, monster-like hybrid.

"Something tells me my life will be a lot more interesting now." I said out loud.

"Yeah I'd say so." A voice agreed. I jumped to my feet.

"Who's there?!" I called. I spun around a few times, searching the forest. I had to look stupid just looking around for something I couldn't see.

"Calm down, I didn't mean to scare you or nothin." The voice said. I heard a rustling in the bushes behind me. I spun around, prepared to fight. A Lucario stepped into view, but this one was different. The Lucario was wearing black cargo shorts and a dark blue hoodie. It's voice was male so I assumed the Lucario also was. His forepaws were stuffed into the hoodie's pockets. "Hey buddy no need to be so hostile, I'm a friend." He stepped toward me. "Name's Anubis." He extended his hand out. Wait, hand? Anubis must have seen my confusion. "Oh yeah the whole hand thing's prolly throwing you for a spin." He placed his hand back into his hoodie. "Let me explain. I'm like you."

"What do you mean... like me?" I replied, flabbergasted.

"Let me guess; your Pokemon, an Umbreon I'm guessing, was diagnosed with the Pokerus. Everything seemed alright but your Umbreon died from the virus." He began pacing "A few weeks later, a patch of fur started growing, on a spot you had had an open wound around the time of your pokemon's death." He raised an eyebrow at me and cocked his head, I nodded. "Now take that story and change your Umbreon to a Lucario, and you to me."

"Oh I see." I said "So I'm not going to _completely_ become an Umbreon?"

"No you're not." He replied "So what's your name?" He re-extended his arm to me."

"Ezekiel." I shook his hand "Zeke for short."

"Anubis." He repeated "Just Anubis."

"What afraid I'm gonna call you Newb or somethin?" I joked.

"Wouldn't be the first person, but I'd rather you not." He chuckled. "So where you heading?"

"I was told to head east three days until I found a mansion." I told him.

"Ah so you're the one that Jace has been expecting, eh?" He said.

"What do you mean expecting?" I questioned.

"I'm sure Jace will answer all the questions you have." He told me. "Now come on I'll lead you to the mansion." He began walking in the direction he came from and I followed.

"So how did you find me?" I asked him.

"I always take a walk through this part of the woods on Thursdays." He explained "I sensed your aura."

"Wait, what do you mean sensed my aura?" I asked.

"Oh well i didn't just get my Lucario's looks, I also got some of his powers." He answered "Sure they are toned down a bit, but it's still pretty cool. Look at this!" He stopped and held his palm out and up. Slowly a small blue sphere began to form.

"Woah, that's awesome!" I exclaimed "You think I'll get some cool powers too?"

"Depends." He said, starting to walk again. "What kind of moves did your Umbreon know?"

"Dark pulse, Psychic, Shadow ball, and Hyper beam." I told him.

"Hyper beam?" He repeated "I don't care if it is toned down that will be awesome to see." We broke through a wall of trees. "Ah here we are." Before me stood a large mansion behind a stone wall. I couldn't make out much of it, being as it was behind a wall but just the fact that i could see the top of the building meant it had to be huge. Anubis led me to a small side gate in the wall and we entered, what appeared to be, the main courtyard. "This is the back of the building, the main drive is out front." he explained. The courtyard was surrounded on three sides by the mansion itself, and the fourth was covered by the back wall. The mansion looked horseshoe shaped in design; it was a two story complex on the wing to my left and the wing on my right was covered in large bay windows, it looked like a dining room inside. Anubis made his way for a door on the wall that ran between the two wings, I followed. When I entered through the door i realized we were in the kitchen, the large amount of stainless steel appliances was a dead give away. I saw a large set of double doors that went directly into the dining hall wing, we didn't go through those, we went through another door on the other side of the room.

It was a large front room with a mantel, flat screen tv and two, rather large, leather sofas separated by a coffee table. There were people seated at both couches, well not people, more hybrids like a would soon become. I counted five in the room; I saw two that looked like Mightyena hybrids, a Sneasel, a Leafeon and the last one I honestly couldn't guess what that one was a hybrid of. Whatever it was, it looked like it had two enormous growths on either side of its forehead and grayish purple scales.

"Hey Newbie your back!" One of the two Mightyena called, seeing Anubis. "Who's that you got with you?" Anubis glanced back at me and shot me a "What did I say?" look, most likely about being called Newbie.

"He's one of us." He answered, approaching the groups at the couches. "He's not too far along yet, but I reckon he'll go through the major changes within the next couple of weeks." Anubis and I stopped in front of both couches so everyone could get a look at me, it was so awkward having all of them staring at me. "Well everyone, this is Ezekiel." He told the crowd "Umbreon." I found it strange how he tacked on that last part but I guess he anticipated someone would ask what kind of hybrid i would soon be.

"I'll go tell Jace we have a new arrival." The Sneasel hybrid said as she slid off the arm of the couch she was sitting on, heading toward the two story wing.

"Good idea." Anubis told the Sneasel "Hey you know where Eona is?"

"I think she's in her room." The Sneasel answered.

"Alright, thanks Sasha." Anubis turned back to me. "I'm gonna go, you stay here and get acquainted with these guys. Alright?" I just gave him a hesitant nod. He went the same way that Sasha did and left me there. I could say I was nervous, but scared out of my fucking mind would be more accurate. I was in an unfamiliar place, with four unfamiliar people and I was pretty sure any one of them could kill me if they really wanted to. I just stood there, trying not to make direct eye contact with any of them, I felt all of their eyes on me though.

"What's the matter kid?" The one hybrid I couldn't identify asked "Delcatty got your tongue?" I quickly shifted my gaze to my shoes. "Hey don't feel discouraged, we all have been where you are." He approached me. Great the one that probably terrified me the most decides to be the first to get withing two feet of me. "I'm Michael, Garchomp." He extended his hand, I now noticed a scythe like fin on his forearm, Garchomp that's what he was.

"Zeke." I shook his hand, he was left handed so I ended up shaking with the one of my hands that had already undergone the change. "Umbreon." I mustered a slight smile, at least he didn't seem like my biggest worry here. The Leafeon jumped up from her spot on the couch and approached me. She appeared female, not just because of the way she acted but because of the fact that, even though she was wearing a hoodie and was a Leafeon hybrid, I could still see she had a small rack on her, that Sneasel hybrid, Sasha, was the same way.

"Kendal." She held out her hand for me to shake, this time the right hand. "Leafeon." I shook her hand not bothering to say my name and hybridization again for the sake of sounding redundant. She smiled at me and I returned it, she seemed really nice.

"And since I know these two won't formally introduce themselves." Michael spoke up, gesturing at the two Mightyena hybrids. "That's Romulus..." He gestured at the taller one. "...and remus." He gestured at the shorter of the two. I just gave them a curt nod and Remus returned it, Romulus did nothing. "And before you ask, no, those aren't their original names. But, they thought since they looked like Mightyena they might as well change their names to the two brothers from the old legend." Romulus grinned at the remark. I vaguely remembered the story of Romulus and Remus. They were two brothers lost in the forest as babies, or something like that. A pack of Mightyena found them and the alpha female raised the two of them as her own.

"It will be nice to have another eeveelution hybrid here." Kendal said " Eona's the only other one but she doesn't really talk to me that much." It was obvious to me that she kind of felt like a loner here. I felt for her, back at my school I was always the outcast. It wasn't that I was a nerd or an ass or anything. Most people thought I lacked the ability to care because i showed barely any feeling in public. Sarah had been the only one to put in the time to see through that for who i really was, but she was gone now.

"Well I'm sure you and me can be good friends." I told her, giving her a pat on the shoulder. She smiled at me and I smiled back, I felt like maybe this would be a better home than my old one.

"Ah, you must be the one Rick told me about." I heard a man call from across the room. I looked and saw another hybrid approaching me, Sasha was with him, he had a canine face and two horns protruding backwards from his skull, a Houndoom hybrid. He closed the gap rather quickly. "I am Jace." He extended his arm towards me and i shook his hand.

"Ezekiel." I replied "But please, call me Zeke."

"Will do my friend he said." He adjust some buttons on his coat as he said the words. It was strange, most of the hybrids here wore cargo shorts or pants with a hoodie or hooded jacket, Jace was wearing a full black suit with a crimson red tie. "Rick came to me a few weeks ago about you, let me start by saying I am very sorry for the ordeal you went through."

"It's not your fault." I told him. "So you know Rick?"

"Yes, we planned your escape, him and I." He told me "And since you're with us here it means that it most likely went off without a hitch." He said that last part very "matter of factly". "So I see you've met about half of our current residence here. Has anyone shown you around the mansion yet?"

"No, I just got here with Anubis about ten minutes ago." I explained.

"I see." He said "Kendal would you mind showing him around? I'd have Michael or Sasha do it but they are about to go hunting."

"No problem Jace, I can do that." Kendal replied "Come on Zeke, let me show you around your new home." She began walking towards the two story wing and I followed, surprising myself with how eager I actually was to be here.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Jace was quite a rich businessman before he went through the changing." Kendal explained to me. " He laid off the staff at this mansion and repurposed it so people like us could have a safe place to stay."

"Awful generous of him." I remarked.

"Yeah it was." She said "He cares about us here, unlike the rest of the world probably would." That last comment came out with a bit of anger. "But as long as we are here, we don't have to worry about society's opinions of us."

"You seem a little mad about how the world views us, but I don't recall ever hearing about hybrids on the news or anything." I said "I assume then that we aren't a well known kind. Why do you act like someone hurt you with their judgment?" She stopped for a moment, I didn't know what she was going to do.

"I don't feel like talking about it." She said, her voice quivering slightly. "It's too fresh of a wound."

"Ok." I said, as we continued down the hallway. "I'm sorry my curiosity just got the best of me."

"It's alright." She assured, but I could tell she was recalling whatever it was that she didn't want to talk about. "I asked a lot of questions when I came here too." We came to a door at the end of the short hallway. "Here we have the multi-purpose room." She proceeded through the door and I followed. Inside was an array of different things that could keep me entertained for hours; pool tables, air hockey, foosball, treadmills, an elliptical, flat screen televisions, numerous games systems, and even an indoor bowling alley. There was a single hybrid already in the room, a purple cat looking one, running on a treadmill across the room. "Hey Lucy!" Kendal called across the room. Lucy looked over quickly, checking who called her name. Kendal waved her to come over. "Come meet the new guy." Lucy got off the treadmill and began walking towards the both of us. The way she walked caught my attention, she swayed her hips rather seductively with every step.

"Now who's this cutie?" She purred rather seductively at me. I was about to answer but the words got caught in my throat, no girl had ever been so forward with me.

"This is Zeke, and could you please back off. He just got here and probably has enough on his mind without you throwing him for a loop." Kendal spoke up for me, I was quite relieved. "I mean, he hasn't even gone through the change yet for Arceus's sake." I swallowed down the knot in my throat and let out a slight sigh of relief.

"Oh calm down I'm just having some fun with the boy." She chuckled "I'm Lucy, Liepard." She looked me up and down, she was sizing up a piece of meat. "What are you."

"Umbreon." I told her, clearing the last of the tightness in my throat with a slight cough.

"Ooh, another dark type." She purred, tapping me on my nose. I chuckled to myself a bit. "What's so funny?"

"Oh, it's just you automatically assume you're my type." I explained.

"What do you mean by that?" She questioned a little more angry.

"Sorry, didn't mean to sound harsh, but I'm not into girls who get all seductive on my first meeting with them." I explained "I prefer ones who want to get to know me first, ones who are a little more considerate."

"Pff, of course the first decent dark type male and he doesn't like darker personalities." She rolled her eyes "Just my luck. Well I'll see you around." She walked out the door Kendal and I had just entered from.

"Well that was... different." I told Kendal.

"Yeah, Michael says that she was kind of like that before, but it got even worse when she went through the changing." She explained.

"Wait so does that mean I'm gonna have a darker personality when I change?" I was getting rather worried, I didn't want to change.

"Well maybe just a little bit." She said "But unless you were already that way, it won't do much to you. The only thing the change does, personality wise, is amplify some traits if you already had them, that's why Lucy is the way she is."

"Well that puts my mind at ease a bit." I said with a sigh "So where to next?"

"Upstairs." She told me "To the bedrooms." She led me to a door at the far side of the multi-purpose room that opened to a stairway. The outside wall of the stairwell was covered in plate glass, it gave a nice western view of the setting sun. Kendal stopped about halfway up the stairwell, where there was a landing, and stared out at the horizon. I couldn't help but stop and watch as well. "It's just beautiful ain't it?"

"Yeah it's amazing, but my favorite part comes after." I told her, she gave me a questioning look. "Just wait a little while and you'll see what I mean." We both sat there for about twenty minutes, just staring out at the sky, the sun sinking ever lower, and when the very last sliver of light dipped below the horizon the sky turned black. The stars appeared and dotted the black sheet that was the sky and the moon could be seen more clearly.

"Wow." Kendal barely whispered the word. I just looked over at her, she turned to meet my gaze and we smiled at each other. My body calmed and thoughts flowed freely through my mind. I couldn't help but think of a similar experience I had had with Sarah. With that thought my calm was replaced with sadness, remembrance of the fact that I would most likely never see her again. My shoulders slumped slightly, Kendal must have noticed. "Hey, you alright." She frowned at me.

"Sorry, just remembering someone from before, someone who I won't see again." I explained.

"Jace mentioned something about you going through some sort of ordeal. You want to talk about it?" She asked "Might help."

"Well the day when I lost my Umbreon, Azrael, to the Pokerus my girlfriend ran away from home." I began "She just left town; didn't call me, didn't come see me, didn't even say goodbye. It devastated me."

"Sounds rough." She said "How long ago was that?"

"Three years ago." I answered.

"Wait three years?" She asked confused "And you're just now starting to show signs of changing?"

"Not quite." I answered, smirking at her confusion. "I was diagnosed with the Pokerus myself shortly after that. My father worked in research lab. He tried to find a cure for my disease but he knew it would take time, more time than it would take for the virus to affect the rest of my body. So he put me in a stasis tank to halt the progression of the virus."

"So you were in that thing for three years?" She questioned.

"I didn't want to." I began to explain to her. "I wanted to atleast be able to have a life, even if it meant allowing the virus to do whatever it does to my body. I told my father to keep me in there for no longer than three months. He promised he would abide by my wishes." I felt tears begin to well up in my eyes. "He lied to me, kept me in that damned tank for three years. Three years I can never get back. It was terrible, I wasn't awake but I wasn't asleep either. I could hear things around me and feel. Everyday I received electroshock therapy to keep my muscle mass up, so I would be able to move around whenever I got out, it hurt so much." My tears were flowing more freely now.

"I'm sorry." Was all Kendal could say.

"Why are you sorry?" I asked, choking back a slight sob "You didn't lie to me, my father did." I squeezed my eyes as tight together as I could, trying to close the floodgates. I had to look pathetic to Kendal, just crying and feeling sorry for myself. Then she did something I didn't expect, I felt arms wrap around my chest and a shoulder slide its way under my face, which was turned towards the floor.

"I'm sorry because I couldn't help you then." She whispered, tightening her hug. "But I can help now, even if it's just by giving you a shoulder to cry on. I know how important that can be at times." I sucked up my pride and returned the hug. She was right, a shoulder to cry on was extremely important at times like that. After my eyes had spilled all the tears they could I broke away from the hug.

"Thank you." I whispered to her.

"It's alright." She assured, in her normal tone. "Anytime you need to talk just find me. Ok?" I nodded. "Come on we still have most of the building left for you to tour." We continued up the rest of the stairs and entered a hallway lined on both sides with doors. Each door had wooden signs with names on them, save one door. "These are the rooms of the house; there are seven, five single bedrooms and two double." She explained, walking down the hallway. "As you can see each room has its occupants name on the door." As I passed by each door I took note of the names. I saw familiar ones like Anubis, Jace, and Michael. I also saw one labeled "Leon & Jewel", I didn't know those names. We passed by a door labeled Eona, I recall Anubis had gone to look for an Eona earlier. The last two rooms were labeled "Romulus & Remus" and "Sasha & Lucy". "This is the bathroom for this floor." Kendal gestured to the door with no label. There were some things that bugged me though.

"Hey Kendal, I have two questions." I said "First, I thought you said there were only two double rooms. Why are there three signs with two names on them?"

"Ah, well that's an easy enough answer." She stated "These two at this end are the double rooms, the other one belongs to Leon and Jewel who are a married couple."

"Wait they got married after they became hybrids?" I asked

"Well they certainly weren't gonna let something like the Pokerus keep them from continuing with a, somewhat, normal life." She explained "I, myself, am still waiting for that special someone to come walking through that door." She smiled with her last remark which caused me to wonder if she thought I could possibly be that someone.

"Ok." I ignored my thoughts and continued. "Second, where's your bedroom."

"Well..." She paused "... I was the newest hybrid here, before you anyway, and the rooms were all filled before I got here. So I sleep in one of the only available spaces left, the living room on the couch."

"So it sounds like I will have to take the other one then." I stated.

"Yes I suppose you will." She smiled again as she said it, like she enjoyed the idea. "But when you go through the major change you will be given an actual bed for the duration of that."

"I keep hearing you mention this change thing." I said "What exactly is it?"

"It's the part of your hybridization where your body goes through extreme structural change." She explained "That's how Michael explained it to me. It's really painful, so we try to keep the person as comfortable as possible."

"Sounds like fun." I said sarcastically "Come on let's get done with this tour." We began heading for the stairs at the end of the hallway we were on, when something turned the corner and slammed into me. I toppled over and whatever hit me fell off. I looked to see what it was and was met with a pair of amber eyes, it was an espeon hybrid. "Sorry about that." I said to the Espeon, I didn't get a reply. The Espeon just stared at my face for a few seconds and then dashed down the hall to a room, looking like she had just seen a ghost. "I said I was sorry." I remarked to Kendal.

"That's Eona; the only other eeveelution hybrid here besides me, she's also Anubis's girlfriend." Kendal explained to me. "She's kind of shy but I've never seen her act like that before. Whatever, it's prolly no big deal, let's get going." We went down the stairs but when we hit the first landing my head started pounding all of a sudden, I ignored it. When I reached the bottom of the steps I went lightheaded and brought my hands up to cradle my head. "What's wrong?" Kendal asked.

"Headache." I explained "Really lightheaded."

"Shit." Kendal muttered "I need help down here! Anubis! Michael! Anybody!" I heard her call up the stairs, then I hit the floor.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Ahhh!" I screamed "It hurts! Ahhh!"

"Hold him down, keep him from thrashing around too much!" Anubis commanded "What's going on?! Nobody else was this violent!"

"Ahhh!" I screamed again. My body felt like it was on fire and I had nearly passed out when it started. Anubis, Eona, Lucy, and two other Hybrids I hadn't met came rushing to my aid when Kendal yelled for help. Anubis, with the help of the others, carried me to one of the rooms and got me down on a bed, but my muscles had began to spasm uncontrollably.

"Eona, get his left arm, Lucy his left leg!" Anubis ordered over my cries of agony. "Leon get his right leg!" Anubis's grip moved to my right arm and he held it down. The pain was excruciating, spreading across my chest, down both legs and up my neck. I thought I might have heard bones crack, there were occasional sharp pains in my chest and shoulders. My back arched in pain and my palm opened reflexively, a hand fill my palm and gripped my hand. I clamped down on it as another tremor of pain racked my body. I managed to look over and see that it was Kendal who had taken my hand, she cringed slightly as I squeezed down on it. Her eyes locked with mine and I tried to tell her sorry without saying a word.

"Anubis, his legs!" I heard Lucy yell.

"Arceus, they're already changing." Anubis muttered. My legs were starting to hurt significantly more than the rest of my body now, pain in my chest diminishing slightly. The pain in the left side of my head also stood out. I saw black spots dance in front of my eyes as I let out another scream, tears ran down my cheeks freely. I blinked back the tears to see darkness begin to envelope my vision, the sounds of the world began to die out. My body finally began to succumb to the pain and I blacked out.

_"Goodbye old friend." I whispered, tears flowing, to Azrael. "I'm gonna miss you." His now lifeless body was lying peacefully in my lap at the Pokemon Center. It was only a month ago that he was diagnosed with an advanced strain of the Pokerus that was overwhelming his system. Nurse Joy assured that it would be fatal, she hadn't lied. I laid him back down on the examination table and covered him completely with a sheet. I got up from the table and went outside the room, Nurse Joy went in after I left. My phone rang._

_ "Hello?" I answered._

_ "Yes, Zeke?" The person at the other end replied. "It's Sarah's mom."_

_ "Oh, hello." I said, trying to hide the sadness in my voice. "What can I do for you?"_

_ "Do you know where Sarah is?" She asked._

_ "No, I haven't heard from her today." I told her. "Why?"_

_ "Well..." She paused "...Zeke she seems to have run away from home."_

_ "What?" I said, exasperated. "Are you sure, maybe she just went to another friends house without telling you."_

_ "No, we already checked with her friends." She explained "You were the last person we needed to check with." I couldn't believe it, she hadn't even said goodbye._

_ "I... I gotta go." I said, my voice devoid of emotion. I didn't even wait for a reply and I hung up. I walked, not really knowing where I was going, out of the Pokemon Center. How had all this happened? I lost my best friend, to some virus that wasn't even supposed to be fatal, and my girlfriend left, not telling me anything. Those were the last two people in this town who seemed to give a shit about me. I muddled through my thoughts and stopped walking. I found myself at the edge of the a cliff, there was a small bench nearby. I sat down, remembering all the time I spent here. I always sat here and watched the sunset by myself, back before Sarah and I were dating. The first time she really expressed any interest in me was here, we sat and watched the sunset. We shared our first kiss here and spent many afternoons here with each other during the summer months, just watched the sunset together. The sun was setting now, it's red and orange hues painted the sky, but it no longer held the same meaning. It used to be a sight of beauty to me and made my life somewhat enjoyable, but now it was just a horrible sight that dug at my fresh wound. It tore at all the happy memories as if to mock me that I wouldn't have anymore with Sarah. I stood up, filled with sadness, and stared out across the horizon._

_ I turned my attention downward, to the ground below. I saw the rock slope below me and was presented with a thought, why not jump and end it all. It was at least a four story jump and it would surely bring an end to my sadness. After all, I no longer had a reason to go on. The sudden change in scenery brought my attention back upwards, the sun's light was gone. The full moon and stars replaced the orange light in the sky. I don't know why but it brought me some kind of peace. If the moon was able to make its way across the sky each night without anything else, why couldn't I go on on my own? So I stepped away from the edge and let the blackness of night consume me as I walked home._

My eyes snapped open. I wondered when I might get a semi-happy dream. I didn't move, my body was sore and something felt off. I caught slight movement, out of the corner of my eye. I slowly rotated my head, I saw Kendal sitting in a chair in the room. She wasn't looking at me, she was wringing her right hand like it was hurt.

"Sorry about that." I whispered, my throat was bone dry from all my screaming. She eyes shot up to meet mine. "How long have I been out?"

"About four hours." She told me, standing up and moving closer. "How you feeling?"

"Sore, confused, kinda scared." I told her. "My tailbone hurts for some reason."

"Oh, that." She said as if she knew why. "I can help, roll over on your side." I complied and rolled over, facing away from her. I heard a drawer open and a tug on my cargo pants, then the sound of scissors cutting something and the pain in my tailbone receded. "There, but I wouldn't roll onto you back now." She said, walking over to the side of the bed I was facing.

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Just gave your tail a chance to breath." She explained.

"Wait tail?" I reached around my waist and grabbed onto my new, fluffy tail. Kendal giggled at my reaction.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it." She giggled "Lucky for you all the chairs in the mansion are designed for tails, save the couches." She stared at me for a couple of moments.

"So do I look like an Umbreon?" I asked and her smile faded. "What?"

"Well, yes and no." She told me.

"What do you mean?" I questioned. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small mirror from her pocket. She held it up to me and what I saw horrified me. I saw my face, half of it anyway. The other half was that of an Umbreon. The left side of my skull was stretched into a partial muzzle, it made me wonder how my speech wasn't affected. "No, no no no no."

"Calm down, you aren't done with your change yet." She explained, it calmed me down slightly. "Your face should even out by tomorrow, or at least I think."

"You think?" I repeated.

"Well it's weird." She explained "You are progressing faster than me or anyone else did. Normally, to get where you are in the change, it should have taken several weeks."

"Rick said that the stasis tank stopped the virus but now that I was out it would progress faster." I explained "I guess this is what he meant." Kendal nodded. "If I'm still changing why isn't my face killing me?"

"Jace gave you some morphine to dull your pain." Kendal explained. "It helping at all?" My face still had a dull pain but it wasn't bad, must be because of the drugs.

"Yeah it is." I told her. She started wringing her right hand again. "I'm really sorry about that."

"It's alright." She explained, stopping. "I know you didn't mean to. It hurt enough for the two weeks I went through the change. I couldn't imagine going through all that in a manner of hours."

"Yeah, trust me you don't want to endure it." I chuckled. I began coughing because of my still dry throat. "Could I get something to drink." Kendal handed me a glass of water that was already on the nightstand.

"I figured you would need this." She explained "What with all the screaming you did." I blushed; embarrassed, even if I had been in extreme pain, no guy wants to have a girl around when he's screaming his head off. Kendal giggled again, patting me on the shoulder. "You know, I really like that laugh of yours."

"Do you?" She smiled "I'll have to remember that." I chuckled. I had a new life now, maybe it's about time I try giving another girl a chance. I thought to myself. But I'll wait to get to know her better. Kendal yawned.

"You should get some sleep." I told her, also yawning.

"You should too." She giggled again, man I actually did find it rather cute. She walked back over to the chair on the other side of the room and sat down, leaning her head bag and shutting her eyes. Her breaths became deep and even, she was asleep. I stared at her for a few minutes, she was pretty cute. Soon my eyes became heavy.

"Goodnight Kendal." I whispered, before falling asleep. I thought I heard her return the goodnight as the world turned to the blackness of my subconscious.


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

**Knock, knock**.

The sound of someone knocking on the bedroom door woke me up, I looked over and saw Anubis enter.

"How you doing man?" He asked me, whispering.

"Better, I guess." I whispered back "Why are we whispering?"

"Didn't want to wake your girlfriend." He snickered, pointing to Kendal who was still asleep in her chair.

"She's not my girlfriend." I fired back, still whispering.

"Might as well be." He said, plopping down on the foot of the bed. "She hasn't left the room since we put you in here."

"Really?" I glanced over at her.

"Yeah" He smirked at me "I also saw that little moment you two shared in the stairwell."

"That wasn't a moment." I said "She just stopped to watch the sunset and she was my guide through the house, so naturally I stopped as well."

"And the extra twenty minutes you took to wait for the moon to rise?" He raised an eyebrow at me, I looked away from him and blushed. "It doesn't matter anyway, she's obviously into you."

"You think so?" I chuckled.

"She was really worried about you when you collapsed." He explained "So yeah."

"I just met her." I said "Why would she already have a thing for me?"

"Got me." He said "I still don't know how I got Eona to give a me a chance, but that's panned out nicely so far."

"How long you two been together?" I asked him.

"Let's see..." He trailed off, ticking off fingers on his hand. "About two years and... seven months now."

"Yeah I'd say that has panned out nicely too." I remarked, my longest relationship had only lasted about a year and a half. "I'm glad for you."

"Thanks man" He reached over and patted me on the shoulder. He paused for a moment thinking. "Hey if you and I can be acting like best buds after only knowing each other for three days, she can develope feelings for you in the same amount of time."

"Yeah I guess you might be right." I said. I paused to think about it, honestly I didn't believe it. She had to have a specific reason for taking to me so quickly. I decided to ask her about it some other day, everything was just a little too confusing what with all the changes in my life right now. "Wait three days?"

"Yeah you were out like a light." Anubis 's ears must have been burning because she began to stir from her slumber. She opened her eyes drowsily and lifted her arms to stretch.

"Well good morning." I said to her cheerfully.

"Good Morning." Anubis repeated.

"Morning." Kendal replied, still yawning. "You look a lot better today."

"Oh so you're saying I looked bad before?" I joked with her.

"You know I didn't mean it like that, you black furball." She laughed, perking up a little. "How you feel."

"Well I'm not screaming in agony, so that's a positive." I grinned, both Anubis and Kendal laughed at that one.

"Yeah my ears were ringing for another hour after you passed out." Anubis continued laughing, actually holding his sides he was laughing so hard.

"Oh come on, you have no idea how much pain I was in." I retorted, realizing he was now laughing at me rather than with me.

"Oh calm down I'm just busting your balls." He said. The phrase busting my balls made me think.

"Hey I'm gonna go to the bathroom." I said, swinging my legs off the side of the bed and standing up. I quickly lost my balance and began to fall, luckily Anubis caught me.

"Whoa there buddy." He said, lifting me back up to my feet. "It's gonna be a bit before you get used to your new legs." I looked down at my feet and realized what he meant. My calf had shortened slightly and was bent at a greater angle than I typically stood with. Also, my foot had extended so it was longer and I was only standing on my tiptoes. My toes were replaced with paw pads and claws, essentially my legs had become that of an actual umbreon. Anubis lifted my arm around his shoulders for support, allowing me to put some pressure on my feet so I could begin to relearn how to walk. "Alright let's go." He led me out the door and down the hallway slowly. I noticed the sign on my bedroom door on the way out.

"Thanks for letting me use your room for the past couple of nights." I said.

"No problem man." He said hauling me closer to the bathroom door.

"So how are the couches?" I asked "Seeing as I'm gonna be sleeping there from now on."

"Eh they aint that bad." He said "Snuck up into Eona's room last night though."

"Oh had a little fun did you?" I laughed.

"No none of that." He chuckled "Eona wants to wait until we can get married." We arrived at the bathroom door.

"What are you guys waiting for?" I asked.

"Waiting for Eona to turn eighteen." He explained "Jace's rule, otherwise we would already have tied the knot."

"Ah I see." I said. "Alright I can handle myself from here." I reached for the door and opened it, simultaneously slipping my arm off of his shoulder.

"Alright, there's handrails on the wall if you need to hold onto something." He pointed out a few of the handrails as he explained. I took a few stumbling steps into the room until I needed to support myself on a handrail. "I'll be right out here if you need help." He said, smiling as he closed the door. I stood up straighter, taking my weight off of the handrail. I took a few more steps toward the sink, I was pretty wobbly but I was slowly learning to walk on my new legs. I realized I would have to take a few steps to the sink where there wasn't anything to support my self on. I steadied myself as I took my hand off the railing.

I took one step, things were looking good, then two, still standing, then on the third step I began to lose my balance. I tipped forward and stepped to try and catch myself, surprisingly I succeeded in doing so. I let out a sigh of relief, last thing I needed to do was crack my head off the sink. I took the last few steps to the sink and supported myself on it. I looked in the mirror, Arceus did I look different.

My mouth and nose were extended into a round muzzle and my teeth were sharper and more canine like. My eyes were larger but, surprisingly, they were the same color as before, a blueish gray. There was a gold colored ring of fur on my forehead and similar rings on my new, longer ears.I was surprised to see that my chest and shoulders had changed as well. My shoulders weren't as broad and my chest was more rounded and smaller. I was also pretty sure I gained at least two inches in height, probably on account on my new legs. I saw my tail swish to the side, I turned to look at it. It was about the same length of my torso and rather bushy. There was a golden ring around it, much like on my ears and forehead. I noticed the hole Kendal cut in my cargo pants and it brought me back to the main reason I came in here. I sucked in a breath, preparing myself for the worst, and I dropped my drawers. Thank Arceus everything down there was still the same, well besides the fur.

I pulled my pants back up and haphazardly got my tail back through the hole in them. I made my way back to the door, still relying on the handrails. I opened the door and Anubis was still where I left him.

"You good?" He asked "I didn't hear the toilet flush."

"Prolly cause I didn't go in there to use the toilet." I said, shutting the door behind me.

"Ah, checking yourself out." He said, nodding slightly. "I did the same thing after my change was over." He started back towards his room. "Think you can walk your way back to the room on your own?" I nodded and followed, sliding my hand along the wall on my way back. "Oh, morning Jace." Anubis said as he entered the room.

"Good morning Anubis." He said, smiling as I entering the room. "You too Zeke. I'm glad to see you're up and walking." He was sitting on the bed next to a pile of neatly folded clothes. "I brought you some fresh clothes to wear." He patted the pile. "After you get changed you can meet us all downstairs in the dining hall for breakfast." He and Kendal stood up and Anubis followed them as they left the room, leaving me alone. I took off my shirt and threw it on the floor, suddenly there was a knock at the door and it opened with little pause between.

"Hey, sorry, I just remembered that Jace forgot to tell you something." She said, her green cheeks seemed to flush a slight pink color. "Those cargo pants have a button on the back, it goes around your tail. Alright, see ya down stairs." She closed the door and I could hear her scamper off down the hall. Arceus she seemed excitable. I took off my pants and underwear and put on the new ones. I had to pull my tail through a hole that was in the fresh pair of boxers, I would have to get used to that. I picked up the pair of grey cargo pants and examined the back of them. There was a button on the waistline with a small U-shaped hole below it. I pulled on the pants and with only slight difficulty I managed to button them around my tail. The pants were a bit loose, luckily Jace had left me a belt. I pulled on the white T-shirt that was on the pile, it took some effort to get my long ears through. There was a black hooded jacket that I quickly threw on without zipping it up. It was time to go down for breakfast.

I made my way down the hallway, towards the stairwell near the bathroom. I still ran my hand along the wall as I walked, just in case, but walking was progressively getting easier. I ran into a slight issue though, stairs. I had forgotten about how hard it would be going down stairs for the first time with my new legs. "Well, now or never." I muttered to myself. I would feel alot better if i knew someone would be there in case I did fall, I'd just have to deal with it. I slowly placed my right foot, well paw, on the first step. I continued down to the second and the third, eventually I made it to the landing halfway down the stairs. I got a little cocky and took the second flight a little faster. At about the fourth to last step I slipped and fell forward. I put my hand out in front of me to catch myself but to no avail. I felt my face touch down hard on the floor as pain exploded through it. Then, nothing but blackness.

"Hey. Hey kid, wake up." I came out of my catatonic state reluctantly "There we are. You alright?" I looked up to see who was talking to me. I saw a fox-like hybrid kneeled down next to me, I was laying on my back at the bottom of the steps and my face really hurt. I grunted and sat up, wiping the back of my hand across my face as I did. I looked at my hand and, though it was hard to notice because of my black fur, there was a red streak on it. "Here I got something for that." The Hybrid said, reaching into one of her pockets and pulling out a tissue. She handed it to me and I made sure to smile at her.

"Thank you." I said.

"We really haven't formally met yet." She said. "I'm Jewel, Ninetales."

"Zeke, Umbreon." I replied "You're Leon's wife?"

"Yes, yes I am." She said. "So, still getting used to your new legs?"

"Yeah." I said "Jace had brought me some new clothes and told me to meet me downstairs for breakfast. I forgot about having to walk down the steps though."

"Don't worry, it'll be a cakewalk soon enough." She assured me, helping me to stand "Anyways, Jace just got to breakfast not too long before I found you here. So you prolly weren't knocked out for very long. You're just lucky I needed to grab something from mine and Leon's room."

"Thanks." I said as I got back on my paws "I guess I'll see you at breakfast then."

"Try not get anymore bloody noses today." She said, smiling. "Alright?"

"I'll do my best." I assured her as I walked towards the living room, on my way to the dining hall. The dining hall wasn't too hard to find, what with the large amount of chatter coming from it. I walked in and smelled eggs and bacon, freshly cooked no doubt, Kendal spotted me and waved me over to her. She appeared to have saved me a seat between her and Remus, there was a plate with food already set out for me.

"What took you so long?" She asked me, wide grin on her face as I sat down.

"Took a little stumble down the stairs." I explained "But I'm alright."

"Oh, sorry." She said "One of us should have stayed to help you down the steps."

"Nah, it's fine really." I assured her.

"So Zeke, I'm glad to see your up and around." Michael said, noticing that I was now at the table.

"Yeah feeling a lot better." I remarked, taking in the sight of the group. Kendal sat on my right side and Sasha next to her. On my left sat Remus and Romulus, accordingly. Lucy was seated at the end of the table to my left. On the far left of the other side of the table was a Luxray hybrid, who I assumed to be Leon because he was the only one I hadn't met yet. There was an empty seat next to him, for Jewel. Across from me, was Eona, who seemed to be avoiding eye contact with me, then Anubis, Michael and ,at the head of the table, Jace.

I looked down at my plate, there were two eggs sunny side up and three strips of bacon with a biscuit. I picked up my fork and began eating, it tasted amazing. Before I knew it the meal was gone as well as the glass of orange juice that came with it.

"Jeez, hungry much?" Kendal giggled at me.

"Hey give me a break." I told her "It's the first real meal I've had in three years."

"Three years?" Sasha repeated, catching what I said. "Now you're gonna have to explain that."

"Well, it's kind of a long story." I explained.

"We don't care, just tell Zeke." Anubis chimed in "Not like you have anything better to do, you already ate all your food." Kendal, sasha and Michael started laughing.

"Alright, alright." I said "You got me there." I then proceeded to tell them the same story I had told Kendal a couple of nights before, minus the crying though. It took me about ten minutes to explain everything in detail, by the end the whole table was silent.

"I can't imagine what that must of been like." Jewel said, she slipped in a few minutes into the story. "To spend three years like that. It's just... gosh. How old were you when you went in?"

"I had just turned sixteen a few months before ." I said, trying not to dwell on it too much. "What was worst was that for some reason I couldn't do anything but stew on the event of the weeks before I was put in there. I tried to remember something else but just... couldn't." My voice began to falter slightly, my emotions about to get the best of me.

"Hey, none of that matters now." Kendal said, elbowing me playfully. "You got a new life here, a new family."

"Yeah the years I've been here, some of the best years of my life." Leon added, there were murmurs of agreement from everyone except Remus, who seemed to never talk.

"Zeke." Jace said, I looked at him. "There is hope for you to still have happiness, you being here confirms that. Whether you choose to hold on to the past or let it go is your decision, it's also up to you whether you stay or go, none of us will force you to do either. But, I want you to know, you have a home here and people who care about you. So what will it be?" I looked at each of their faces, receiving a warm smile from each of them, even Eona. I never thought about leaving before, but after all, it seemed a silly thought. Where would I go anyway?

"You ain't getting rid of me that easy." I said, genuinely smiling. There were comments of happiness and congratulations on my new life, seemed this was a big deal to all of them. Out of all their smiles, Kendal's had to be the biggest and I still didn't know why.

"Well that's good to hear." Jace said "So what do you want to eat at your party?"

"Party?" I asked.

"Oh you didn't know?" Jace asked "Sorry, I thought someone would have brought it up already. Every new resident gets a party to celebrate their decision to stay. Think of it as a way to start off the beginning of a new, better life."

"Well way to leave that little detail out guys." I remarked, we all laughed. "I'll have to think about it Jace."

"Well don't take too long, I love welcome parties." Leon told me.

"Calm down Leon." Jewel said " There is a lot more planning than just the food, it's gonna at least take a week to set up. Right Jace?"

"Yes I'll have to make some calls and get some deliveries." He explained "We'll also have to rent a music system. Remus I assume you would like to DJ like you always do." Remus nodded enthusiastically. "Zeke you can coordinate with him so he can get your music preferences. It's your day after all."

"Alright." I said, a little overwhelmed. "Sounds like the next few days will busy."

"Eh it will all pay off in the end." Anubis said "My party was a blast. Heck, all the parties since I got here were fun."

"I'm sure it will be fun." I said.

"Well that's enough small talk for me this morning." Jace said standing "I have some business to attend to. Zeke, since your change is over you will be sleeping on the free couch in the living room from now on." I nodded and he turned to leave but stopped. "Oh, and welcome to the family." He smiled widely at me.

"So what's on the agenda today?" I asked turning to Kendal.

"Well, I have to do laundry today so I'm busy." She explained.

"You're with me today Zeke." Michael butted in. "Gotta get you completely used to those new legs, so you and me are hitting the treadmills." Great I haven't gone for a good run in three years, unless you count running for your life, and now I was gonna spend all day on a treadmill. "Come on." Michael was already standing, waiting on me.

"Alright." I stood up and followed him to the multi-purpose room. He walked over to a dresser and pulled out a pair of basketball shorts and tossed them to me.

"Those should be easier to run in than those pants." He told me. I took off my pants and put on the shorts. I pulled my tail through a hole in the back. Where did Jace get all these modified clothes? "Alright, step on up kid."

"I do know how to use a treadmill." I told him.

"Yeah, but you don't seem too excited to be getting on one." He accused.

"Hey, I just fell down a flight of stairs because I'm not used to these legs." I fired back "Forgive me for not being very enthusiastic about running on a treadmill."

"Well you're gonna start out just walking." He explained "But yes, you will be running by tonight. If I can help it."

"Great." I rolled my eyes, looking forward to probably faceplanting at least twice. I stepped up on the treadmill. Alright you're gonna do custom exercise number one. I pressed the custom exercise key and then the one on the number pad. I stumbled slightly as the treadmill started moving at a walking pace. I placed my hands on the sides of the control panel to steady myself.

"Ah ah ah." Michael wagged his finger. "No cheating." I reluctantly let my hands fall back down to my sides. "Alright over the next hour this thing will slowly gain speed until you reach a brisk walk. After that hour is up, you will need to do custom exercise number two and you will move onto jogging and running, that'll run about an hour and a half. I'm gonna be at the weight bench, lifting, come find me when you're done." Michael walked across the room to the weight bench and turned on the stereo on that side of the room. Some loud metal music began blaring through the room, I couldn't even understand what the vocalist was saying. I was really wishing that I had my MP3 player right now. I just focused on my workout and kept walking. after about half an hour the pace of the treadmill grew greatly, I was surprised I didn't fall flat on my face yet. Before I realized my hour must have been over because the treadmill stopped.

I pressed the code for the next exercise and the treadmill jolted into action. This time I did fall on my face, the treadmill threw me backwards onto the floor. I got back up and jumped back on the proverbial horse. Now jogging, and occasionally stumbling, I was starting to get a handle on my new legs. I had already worked up quite a sweat as the treadmill increased in speed for the third time. I looked at the timer and it said I had another twenty minutes to go. Beside the timer was a speedometer that tracked the speed of the treadmill, it read twenty two miles per hour. It was amazing, I'd only ever gone this fast before in a car, my new legs obviously had a lot more potential than my old ones. Eventually my run was over and, needless to say, I was tired. I was panting heavily, Michael must have noticed I was done before me needing to tell him because he killed his music and brought me over a bottle of water. I took it graciously and dumped the bottle's contents down my throat.

"Getting used to those legs?" He asked, slapping me on the back.

"Yeah, I think I'm getting the hang of it." I said between my deep breaths.

"Yeah well that's not even the hard part." He said, I gave him a slight look of worry. "Don't worry too much, We are gonna rest up a bit before we move onto that. In the meantime, how bout a game of pool?"

"Sure." I replied, we both made our way towards one of the billiards tables. I racked up the balls while Michael grabbed a cue for me off the rack. He broke them but I sunk the first ball in a pocket, solids. The game continued on for a while, mainly because I was toying with Michael. Eventually I won out, Michael still having four balls in play.

"Damn, you're good at this." He remarked.

"At the Recreation Center in my old town they had a pool table." I explained "I used to go there all the time to play against the manager and a few other people. I've been undefeated four months, well, four months and three years."

"Alright I get it, you're good, quit gloating cause now I get to run you ragged." He sneered.

"Ok what are we doing?" I asked.

"Follow me." He said, I followed him out of the multipurpose room and down the hall. We made our way out to the back of the mansion, the same way Anubis and I had come in. "Alright, just follow me and try to keep up." He broke off into a sprint towards the back gate, throwing it open and running into the woods. I followed as Michael led me through some trail that only he could see, weaving through the forest, forcing me to jump over some rather large logs and a small creek. I stumbled any number of times, but always caught myself and got back to the chase. Michael was fast, it took all my effort to keep up, but I didn't let him out of my sight. Eventually we arrived at a cliff and we both stopped. "Alright five minute break." He told me. I sat down on the cliff edge and took a breather, I looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was about halfway from being below the horizon. I didn't have long to take in the sight before Michael commanded me to stand up again. "Break's over. Now I get to whoop you in something." He chuckled "We are gonna race back to the mansion."

"We putting anything on this race?" I asked.

"Loser does the winner's chores for a week." He said, sounding quite confident that he would win.

"Fair enough." I said "One, two, go!" I caught him off guard and gained about a ten yard head start.

"Oh, you're a tricky one kid!" He called ahead to me. "You and me are gonna get along just fine!" I could tell that Michael was gaining ground, it didn't help that I was losing speed because of my exhaustion. About halfway back to the mansion I stumbled and Michael overtook me. Now he Had a twenty yard lead and more speed, I was doomed to lose. Suddenly I felt less tired, more energized, and sped back up. I quickly began gaining ground on Michael and somehow regained my lead, now I was increasing it as well. I saw the wall of the property come into view and I ran through the gate and into the courtyard, I slid to a stop near the back door. Michael soon joined me gasping for breath, which was strange because I wasn't winded at all.

"What's the matter?" I asked "Getting too old?"

"Oh you're funny, that's what you are." He said " Just because I didn't account for the fact that the full moon would give you more energy." I cocked my head at him, confused, then looked up to see the full moon. Azrael had always been so much more energetic on nights of a full moon, now I knew how he felt. "Well a deal's a deal." Michael said after a moment. "Looks like I'll be doing your first week's chores."

"You don't have to." I told him "It's not really fair that I got that energy boost when the moon came out."

"Nonsense kid, you used your abilities the best you could." He said "You bested me with them now I have to pay up."

"If you say so." I decided it would be easier not to argue. "Now go inside and get some rest, you look like you're about to pass out on the lawn. Michael just laughed and went inside with me. He went up to the bedrooms and I went to the living room, on account of that's where I'd be sleeping. I fell back onto the couch, the run finally catching up to me, and closed my eyes. I had just fallen asleep when Kendal nudged my foot with hers.

"Hey, wake up." She told me. I opened my eyes, reluctantly, she was smiling down at me with a bowl in her hands. "Have a nice nap?"

"I was." I rolled my eyes.

"Well you missed dinner while you were out." She explained "So I brought you some Ramen." She handed me the bowl, I indulged in its aroma.

"Ahhh, thanks." I said "I love this stuff." I twirled the fork that was in the bowl around, wrapping the noodles around it. I took a big mouthfull of the salty noodles and slurped the the ones that didn't make it all in my mouth. Man that was good, it took me only a few minutes to eat all the noodles and I slurped down all the broth. "Thanks."

"Don't worry about it." She assured, sitting next to me. "So I take it you'll be doing Michael's chores for the next week."

"No." I replied "Why would you assume that."

"Well he had me race him when I got here, said loser does winner's chores for a week, said he does that with every new member of the household." She explained "Didn't he race you?"

"Yeah, he did." I told her "I beat him."

"Wait, you beat him?" She exasperated, her jaw dropping slightly. "He said that he's never lost a race, not even to Sasha and she's a Sneasel."

"So that's why he seemed so surprised to lose." I chuckled "Guess I just got lucky."

"I doubt it was luck." She said "If you beat Michael it had to be all skill." She moved a little closer to me. I blushed slightly, glad that my black fur likely hid the red in my face.

"Um Kendal, correct me if I'm wrong..." I cleared my throat slightly. "... but do you have a thing for me?"

"Oh sorry." She said, sliding back to where she was. "Animal instincts kinda made me a little more... forward, than before." Her lightly colored green fur didn't hide her blush as well. "But, yes I am mildly attracted to you."

"Only mildly?" I smirked at her. "Boy that helps my self esteem."

"Well the only reason I was attracted to you when you first got here was because you remind me of my ex a little bit." She explained.

"You know usually that's a bad thing." I told her.

"Well if you reminded me of my last ex then yes, it would be a bad thing." She elaborated, crossing her arms.

"Mind explaining a little?" I asked.

" I don't know, that's that 'fresh wound' I was talking about." She explained, getting slightly agitated. She thought for a moment. "I guess I can tell you, as long as you promise not to tell anyone." She growled the last part at me.

"I promise, I promise." I said, raising my hand defensively. "You can trust me."

"I know I can." She admitted "You don't seem like the type to throw away someone's trust in you."

"I'm not." I assured her.

"Good." She sighed "Well my last boyfriend kind of lied to me, about something important."

"What he lie about?" I asked.

"I'm getting there." She snapped at me, jeez she could sure turn on you fast. "When I first started showing signs of changing I showed my parents. They lost it, called me a freak and screamed at me to get out of the house. I tried to reason with them, but after my mom threw a lamp at me I packed a bag and left." Her voice began to quiver. I knew how hard opening up could be, so I rested a reassuring hand on her back. "I didn't know who to turn to at first, eventually I went to my boyfriend, Jack's, house. When he saw me so upset he hugged me, like he always did, and asked me what was wrong. I told him my parents had kicked me out, he asked why. I told him I was afraid of how he'd react and he said I could tell him anything." She choked back a sob, her eyes watery. "He said... that he loved me, but he lied. He reacted almost as bad as my parents, called me freak and said he didn't want anything more to do with me." A single tear traced a path down her cheek, reflecting what light was in the room. "If he really loved me he wouldn't do that. He tore my heart from my chest and tossed it aside like a piece of trash." She cried a little before continuing. "My boyfriend before him, the one you remind me of, wouldn't have done that. I know he wouldn't have."

"Why did you two break up then?" I asked.

"His father got a job out of the region, his whole family had to move." She explained "We didn't really have a choice, we both knew a long distance relationship wouldn't work." She seemed to calm down at the memory of this ex. "It was sad that he had to go, but he made sure to leave on a good note. He spent the whole day with me before he left, took me to the movies, took me out to dinner, we even watched the sunset together." She was smiling through her tears now. "You look alot like him, well... looked." She giggled slightly. "That's why you reminded me of him, also how you didn't hesitate to open up to me. He did that too."

"Sounds like a nice guy." I said.

"He was." She smiled "You seem like a nice guy too."

"Well that's your opinion to form." I said. "I'd rather you'd take some time to get to know me before you form that opinion, though."

"I will." She said, followed by a yawn. "I need to get some sleep." She got up and walked over to the other couch, across the coffee table, and took off her hoodie before laying down. "Good night." She smiled over at me. I returned the smile.

"Good night." I replied. I laid out on the couch, staring at the ceiling. I already found a downside to the full moon giving me extra energy, it was a real bitch to fall asleep. Luckily, after about two hours, I finally fell asleep.

**AN: I got a lot of comments about my chapters being too short, well that was because I was setting up the story. Think of it like an onion, the core of it is smaller pieces and the meat of it is the larger, outer rings. Hopefully I'll be able to think up enough to keep the rest of the chapters longer, but don't expect a lot of them to be quite this long. (13 pages on my document manager) Please read and review, and thanks for your continued support.**


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Pain exploded across my face, likewise the back of my head, as I fell back on the floor for the fourth time.

"Come on!" Anubis yelled at me. "You can do better than that, Zeke!" I got back up and squared with my opponent. It had been a week since I beat Michael in his little race and now he was getting his revenge. He had challenged me to a boxing match, saying he wanted to get me back for the chores he had to do for the last week. I wasn't one to shy away from a challenge. Anubis was there for support, so he said, but I think he just wanted to see someone get their ass kicked. Michael was able to out maneuver me in almost every way, dodging almost all of my blows and quickly retaliating.

"What's wrong kid?" Michael taunted me. "Not so tough without that moon, huh?" He gave me a quick right jab. I barely dodged. He continued his onslaught, right, left, left, kick, elbow, leg sweep. I hit the floor, this staying down.

"I'll just let you go cry to your mommy while I go shower up!" Michael gloated over me. I didn't really understand why at the time, but that comment really steamed me. I got pissed and the soreness on my body didn't register anymore. I slowly stood up and wiped my forehead. Michael was just about to step over the ropes of the ring, which I hadn't even noticed my first visit to the multi-purpose room.

"What, think I can't take a hit?!" I practically screamed at him. Michael turned back to me and Anubis seemed almost scared by my outburst. "Or are you just afraid to get your ass kicked?!" Michael smirked slightly.

"Kid, you need to know when to quit," he said, chuckling to himself and walking towards me slowly.

"Worry about yourself," I growled, rage boiling through my veins. Anubis caught my eyes and gave me a _'What are you thinking?'_ look. I turned back to Michael who was squaring up with me. The whole match I was on defense. Not anymore.

I threw the first punch, a left hook. Michael's right arm came up to block and his left hand reached to grab my wrist. I let Michael have my wrist but turned it into an advantage for myself. As Michael's left hand wrapped around my left wrist I did the same to him, dragging his left arm across to come in front of his right arm. I was in control now. I followed with two quick haymakers to his gut, then a swift right jab that caught his jaw. Michael managed to break free, obviously a little more concerned about losing. He didn't throw any punches, just simply blocked mine and waited for my energy to dwindle. But my rage-filled energy continued to flow.

My strikes were getting to be too much for Michael, as he was beginning to stumble occasionally with a few of my punches. He managed to catch me off guard though when he suddenly closed the small gap between us, throwing my arms up and away from my chest. He landed a few blows and swiped my legs again, and I fell. Michael said that everything goes except for biting and powers, so I switched into grappling position. I was in the wrestling program at my school for two years before budget cuts caused the school to cut it. I shot on him, getting him in a double leg takedown, and Michaels hit the floor with me on top of him.

I slammed my fist down on his face once before Michael managed to roll us both over. I wrapped my right leg up over his shoulder and my left across his back under the arm. As I locked the triangle choke I caught a look in Michael's eyes; fear. He wanted the fight to be over, but I still had a lot of anger to let out. Michael feebly attempted to land some blows to my face. I just raised my arms and blocked. I kept rocking side to side, building momentum to roll the two of us back over. Michael's blows slowed and I finally rolled him back to the bottom position. Anubis yelled something, but I couldn't hear it over the blood rushing in my ears. I landed one blow, two, then someone pulled me off of him. It was Anubis.

"He's out, Zeke!" he yelled in my ear. "It's over! You're gonna kill him!" My adrenaline rush was still in full swing.

" Fine, I'll let him go cry to his mom," I remarked. "At least he can." Apparently Lucy and Sasha had entered the room at some point during the fight, and they were kneeling by Michael making sure he was alright. I saw his face and the realization of what I did hit me. His face was all bloody and his gaze looked like he was in a stupor. He even was already getting a black eye. Sasha hefted him up with his arm over his shoulder. She shot me a resentful look at she took him out of the room.

"Arceus, I... I didn't mean to..." I stuttered, dumbfounded. "...that wasn't me, I just lost it. I'm so sorry!" Anubis loosened his grip on me and let me go. I was trembling. I may not have looked it, but I was a monster. I couldn't stand any longer, so I plopped down on the floor of the ring, still sporting small splotches of fresh blood.

"Hey man, what the hell happened?" Anubis asked, kneeling down to get at eye level with me. "That was insane!"

"I..." I hesitated. "I don't know what came over me."

"Was it something about that comment he made? About crying to your mom?"

"I guess, but..." I was barely keeping myself from breaking down. " It's always been a touchy subject but I never get that extreme about it. Sure, I've yelled and I did punch someone once, but they were being assholes on purpose. They were asking for it." I swallowed hard. "Michael was just in the spirit of the fight and I took it too far."

"It's the Dark type," Lucy said, stepping inside the ring. "Being turned into a Dark type hybrid tends to magnify negative personality traits. You had slight anger issues before, especially with the subject of your mother. Now they're extreme anger issues."

"Yeah, you can say that again," Anubis said. " You practically looked like you were on fire."

"Anubis, I almost killed Michael," I remarked. "This is no time to compliment my fighting."

"That's not what he meant," Lucy clarified. She handed me a square of paper and I looked at it. I was horrified. It was a polaroid photo of the fight. I was on top of Michael, fist raised high in the air, and I was _literally_ on fire. There was what appeared to be black and purple flames around my fists and the same fire roiled out from my eyes. "I'm an amateur photographer, and I always have a polaroid on me," she explained.

"What came over me?" I asked myself in a whisper.

"Like I said, the darkness. It took its hold over your anger. You're gonna have to put in a lot of effort from now on to keep it from taking over. Believe me, I have enough trouble with my darkness, as you found out on your first day here." I recalled how Lucy came onto me the first day I got to the mansion. "I suggest using a punching bag rather than another living thing next time things get...too intense for you." I shuddered at the thought of losing it like that again, looking back at the picture. "If it makes you feel any better, you looked really hot with that dark fire in your eyes." She winked at me.

"Cut it out, Lucy!" Anubis snapped.

"Sorry!" She put on an innocent face. "Like I said, it's hard to control." With that she sauntered off towards the door. Jace, Eona and Kendal entered as she exited.

"What the hell happened!?" Jace yelled across the room to us. I immediately stood up.

"Jace, I'm so sorry." I pleaded to him. "I didn't mean..."

"What happened?" he repeated sternly. I tried to explain myself but I couldn't work up the nerve to speak. I instead handed him the polaroid. He looked at the photo, Eona and Kendal looking over his shoulder. "Somebody please explain what exactly I am looking at here."

"Lucy said..." I swallowed audibly "...it's the darkness taking over."

"What's that suppose to mean?" Kendal questioned.

"It's not really the darkness," Eona spoke up. "It's your instincts that you got from the changing. The human mind doesn't have to deal with the... quirks, that a Pokémon one does. With Dark types they tend to have antisocial personalities, anger issues, and are overall introverts." How the hell did she know so much about this? "A human mind can keep the urges at bay, but only after it has time to adapt."

"And you know this how?" Anubis asked.

"I'm a Psychic-type hybrid, duh," she retorted. "The mind is my specialty. I've noticed changes in everyone who has gotten here after me and went through the change here."

"Wait, so you just read our minds without our permission?" Kendal asked.

"Sorry, it's an urge that's hard to block." Eona replied. "I don't even realize I'm doing it most of the time."

"Well Eona, since you're such an expert, I'll let you explain it a little better to me while I check on Michael." Jace said. "Hopefully, with your information, I can formulate a proper punishment."

"Punishment?" Kendal asked. "But Jace, you were just told it was something he couldn't control!"

"It's fine Kendal," I assured her. "I need to beat it into my subconscious that this kind of behavior isn't okay." Jace nodded and gestured for Eona to follow him out of the room. The two of them left, leaving me alone with Anubis and Kendal. There was an awkward few seconds before Anubis spoke up.

"So, mind telling us what happened to your mom?" Anubis asked. "You said something that made it sound like she isn't around anymore."

"Yes, I do mind," I snapped back at him, getting irritated again.

"Come on, man," he reasoned. "You can't keep these things locked up inside."

"Just drop it," I told him, turning away to leave the room. "I just need some time to clear my head."

"Zeke, you can trust us!" Kendal pleaded, following me, her prying didn't help my temper.

"I said to just _drop it_!" I whipped around and yelled right in Kendal's face. She had a look of shock and terror on her face. I glanced down at my clenched hands, the same energy danced around them as before. "I'm sorry." I looked back up at Kendal, she was obviously concerned. "I just need some time to myself." I briskly walked out of the room and headed out the back of the mansion.

I walked for about two hours through the forest until something caused me to stop. I heard a commotion coming from nearby. I could hear Pokémon talking in Pokeé-speak but something was different. I still heard the typical yips, barks and segments of a Pokémon's name but I could comprehend it. It was like someone who was raised in the English language, but who is also fluent in Spanish.

"It's another one of those Eon bitches," I heard a Mightyena growl.

"How 'bout we teach her a little lesson about not cooperating with our pack!" a different Mightyena chimed in.

"Come on, we offered to let every last one of you join our pack," a Leafeon replied, obviously defensive. "But your Alpha refused to listen to reason."

"It's too bad we don't give a shit," the first Mightyena said. I eventually broke through some bushes into a small clearing. The Mightyena had the Leafeon cornered by a large tree.

"Hey!" I yelled without thinking. The Mightyena turned their heads to look at me. The Leafeon took her chance and attacked one of them. The other Mightyena reacted by biting down on her foreleg and throwing her against the tree. She fell to the ground. I rushed towards the two Pokémon, once again not really thinking, and tackled one to the ground. I landed on top and proceeded to punch the living hell out of him. My hits didn't seem to be phasing him much at all. I wrapped my hand around his throat, but the other Mightyena tackled me off of him.

"You fucking Hybrids think you're all that!" he growled, pausing to slash at me with his claws. "First you take our territory so you can build your stupid house, now you're butting in on our business!" He reeled his head back to deliver a final bite at my neck but I managed to throw him off of me. I stood up and both Mightyena were standing in front of me. I wished I could take them on at a distance. It was the only way I could win a two-on-one fight. My anger bubbled over and my vision began to turn to a hazy indigo color. A blue corona formed around each of the Mightyena and they began floating in the air.

"Hey, what the hell!" one yelled. I really didn't know what was happening myself at first. It took me a moment to realize that this was one of the things I got from Azrael; his Psychic attack! I attempted to control it, willing the Mightyena through the air, and Arceus it took a lot of effort on my part. They flew in the complete opposite direction I wanted, but the effect was still the same. The pair hit a tree and fell to the forest floor. One didn't get back up.

"Grrr, you'll pay for this, Hybrid!" The still conscious one barked, grabbing his partner by the scruff of his neck. He threw him up onto his shoulders and ran off. Just that fight, that little skirmish, wore me out to exhaustion.

"Willow, explain to me what exactly happened." I heard a familiar voice talking over me. My vision didn't come back right away.

"These two Mightyena jumped me," Willow replied. "Your boyfriend here came bursting through the bushes, distracting them. I took my chance, but they managed to throw me into a tree and knocked me out." She paused. "When I came to, the Mightyena were gone and he was out cold."

"I already told you, he's not my boyfriend!" Kendal told Willow. Slowly I began to make out Kendal's form standing over me. "Since neither of you are dead, I assume that Zeke managed to fend off those Mightyena. Oh, looks like he's finally awake!"

"Hey..." I groaned, sitting up. "How long was I out?"

"Not sure," Kendal answered, giving me a hand to stand up. "Willow called me here when she realized who you were."

"Willow?" I asked. Kendal just gestured to the Leafeon.

"Hi!" she chimed, smiling.

"Hello." I gave Kendal a puzzled look. "You two know each other?"

"Yes, Willow was my Leafeon," Kendal explained. This just raised more questions.

"Don't take this the wrong way..." I started. "But shouldn't she be dead then? After all, didn't she give you the advanced strain of the Pokérus?"

"That was my sister," Willow stated.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't know." I felt bad for bringing it up.

"It's ok, you couldn't have known," she assured. "Besides, with Kendal it's like my sister is still here!" She and Kendal smiled at each other.

"Well Zeke, we better get back to the house," Kendal told me. "That's why Jace sent me here. He's decided on what to do about earlier."

"What happened earlier?" Willow cut in.

"Just some..." I paused. "...anger issues I need to work out."

"Anger issues?" She seemed confused.

"I just lost control," I said quickly. Willow looked like she was thinking about something, even mumbling to herself. She shook her head a few times and then finally seemed resolved.

"I think I know someone who can help!" Willow finally said.

"What do you mean?" Kendal questioned.

"The Alpha of my pack, he had similar issues when he was younger," Willow answered. "His father, the last Alpha, made sure he got his shit together before ascending to Alpha."

"I suppose it couldn't hurt," Kendal said. "But we'll have to ok it with Jace first. Come on, let's go." We all walked together back to the house. We met Jace in his study and explained the situation.

"You're sure your alpha can help?" Jace questioned Willow.

"I can't see how it wouldn't help." She replied "Even if he can't help get Zeke's anger _completely_ under control, he should be able to help him somewhat." Jace ponder this for a few moments, pacing the room. He stopped in front of his desk and sat down.

"Well it's a start, but Zeke you are still gonna get punished." Jace told me.

"Understood." I told him.

"After some thought and talking to Michael, for his opinion, I've come up with a suitable punishment." He explained "After you get back, you'll be doing Michael's duties around the house for two weeks. This includes hunting for food."

"Actually, I was wondering about that." I interrupted "Why do you hunt food if you can just order all the food we need."

"Constantly having a large freezer truck drive up to your property tends to draw attention, plus our money supply isn't unlimited." He answered, rather irritated "Now, back to what I was saying, you'll being all his duties for two weeks. Also; Michael had a special request that I, reluctantly , decided to grant."

"And what's that?" Kendal asked for me.

"Michael wants a rematch with you after he recovers." He replied "He assures me he won't let you hurt him as bad this time; but, just in case, everyone in the house will be in attendance in case you lose control."

"No!" I practically shouted "I refuse, I'm not gonna risk almost killing him again."

"What you think I can't take a few hits kid?" I hadn't even heard the door to the room open and close "I recover a lot quicker than most." Michael finished. I spun around to look the Garchomp hybrid in the face. His left cheek was swollen slightly but he looked okay.

"Michael, I'm so sorry." I began.

"Don't be." He insisted " I should have held my tongue, I don't know anything about your past and shouldn't assume things."

"You couldn't have known that what you said could anger me so much." I said, I didn't understand why Michael wasn't mad at me for what I did. "Why shouldn't I be sorry?"

"Because what I said was mean and inconsiderate." He explained "I was being an ass and got what I deserved."

"Nobody deserves what I did to you in that ring." I shot back.

"Why are you even arguing?!" Kendal yelled over us "Zeke's sorry and Michael isn't mad, this is pointless." I looked at Michael, He was chuckling.

"The girl's right." He remarked.

"Well, now that that is over, can we please turn our attention back to the situation at hand." Jace regained everyone's attention. "Zeke get some of your stuff together and then get heading over with Willow, we don't want to wait till it gets dark, else you might run into more Mightyena." I nodded. "Michael, you get back to your room and rest."

"I'm fine you old dog." Michael retorted "I can sleep when I'm dead." Jace chuckled at this.

"Um, excuse me, Jace?" Kendal said, rather quietly.

"Yes Kendal." He acknowledged her.

"Would it be alright if I accompanied Zeke and Willow." She said "I haven't seen Willow in a while you see and..."

"It's quite alright Kendal." He assured "However, you'll have to spend the night there because it will be much too dark for you to come back on your own."

"Thank you." Kendal replied happily.

"Well I guess we better get going then." I said, turning to exit the room. I walked to the front living room where I had been rooming with Kendal for the past week, Kendal and Willow followed. I packed some extra clothes, some reading material, a deck of cards and my MP3 player in the bag I had brought with me the first day I arrived here. I hadn't realised it until later; but the bag was actually the same one I had brought to my Father's labs three years earlier, which explained the MP3 player and cards I carried with me everywhere being there. Willow and Kendal were waiting in the rear courtyard for me when I was done.

"So how far is your pack's ..." I stopped "What would you call it a town."

"We just call it a village." Willow explained "And it's about an hour or so hike." I nodded and we set off through the forest, Willow following some path I couldn't see. It was about a half an hour into the hike when Kendal grabbed my arm and began to slow her pace down, she returned to her previous pace when Willow was a good distance ahead of us.

"What are you doing?" I asked her.

"I just wanted to talk to you about something." She explained "Remember what you told me a week ago?"

"About what?" I asked, trying to remember if there was anything important I had told her.

"About waiting to form my opinion about you."

"Yeah what about it?"

"I've formed it." She stopped, brought her head up to mine and locked my lips with hers. It seemed to last an eternity. I don't really recall anything after that, my mind was a little befuzzled. I just remember that kiss so vividly it's like it took everything else out of focus.

**AN: I know it's taken me forever to complete this chapter but writer's block is a bitch like that aint it? I'm just glad I was finally able to throw this thing together, well "throw together" isn't really correct. I did still try to add some depth to the storyline this chapter. I'll be reposting a lot of my past chapters here soon as they have been edited for grammar. I'd like to give a HUGE shout out to my friend Orthodox. He offered to help me with the story grammar and even help add input on the plotline if I needed it. He's a great critic and if any of you are Fanfic writers you should definitely look him up for some assistance if you need/ want it.**


	9. Poll anouncement

Results of poll-

Winner- Pokeman

Technically it was a tie if you go just by poll results alone. but when i include those that posted their votes in reviews Pokeman won by 1 vote. sorry to all you "walk in the woods fans" but the fan base has spoken. Pokeman writings will begin again shortly, but with school work it will take a lil while to get chapters out.

Thanks for voting

And for any "FPS Russia" fans. As always, have a nice day.


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